Ask Amy: How Do I Budget with My Kids?

This post is made possible through the generous support of Great-West Great-Teachers, a program of Great-West Financial.

A budget is one of the most important tools individuals and families can have to guide their money use and financial conversations. So often, parents are caught up in the daily grind of work, whipping up meals, taking kids to activities, and ensuring homework gets done, that they don’t regularly check in on where the cash is flowing out for movies, food, clothes and more.

If all kids see is the money going out and no record keeping or tracking for expenses, they can’t grasp the concept of evaluating how much money should be spent and where. They are far more likely to overspend when they have money, if they don’t see the need to watch their spending.
Watch this short video as I walk through four steps you can take to get started budgeting.

Again, here are the four steps:

Acknowledge the need for a budget

Keep track of your spending

Categorize your spending

Re-evaluate

Throughout this blog, you’ll find many resources for budgeting, including some template sheets you can use to track expenses. I also encourage you to come to Young Americans for more information. You can also attend our free Money Matters by Great-West Great Teachers classes. The schedule can be found here.
Tell us below how you manage a budget in your household. We love to hear stories!